Foldable valet



18, 1964 1.. H. BARNETT ETAL 3, ,940

FOLDABLE VALET Filed Sept. '7, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LOU/6 hi BARN/77 Bi /OHN D. DAV/8 13, 1964 H. BARNETT ETAL 3,144,940

FOLDABLE VALET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7, 1962 R7 a M W 0 w m am H 0 r wwm m i kill)! United States Patent,

3,144,940 FOLDABLE VALET Louis H. Barnett and John D. Davis, Fort Worth, Tex.,

assiguors to Lorna Industries, Fort Worth, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Sept. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 221,969 6 Claims. (Cl. 211-4) This invention relates to a foldable valet for use in hanging the normal articles of clothing worn by a man.

A primary purpose of the invention is a valet of the type described which is foldable for easy daytime storage.

Another purpose is a simply constructed lightweight foldable valet of the type described.

Another purpose is a foldable valet of the type described, portions of which may be formed of plastic.

Another purpose is a foldable valet which may be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled.

Another purpose is a foldable valet which includes a small object tray.

Other purposes will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings, and claims.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my foldable valet in the assembled position,

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the valet shown in FIG- URE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the valet of FIG- URES l and 2, with the tray removed,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged partial section illustrating the pivotal connection between the front and rear legs,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial side view illustrating the attachment of the shoe rack to the rear leg, and

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the valet in the folded position.

A pair of spaced front legs 18 slant upwardly and rearwardly and are joined across the top by an integral generally horizontal section 12, illustrated in FIGURE 3. A rear leg 14 may slant upwardly and forwardly and has its upper end 16 extending through a bottom opening 18 in a rearward extension 20 of the horizontal bar 12. In practice, the legs and 14 will be formed of a suitable lightweight tubular material and each of the legs will have suitable foot members 22 at their bottom ends.

The horizontal section 12 is integral with the rearward extension which in turn is integral with an upwardly directed coat hanger support member 24 which mounts a coat hanger 26 at its upper end. The coat hanger, which is preferably formed of plastic, but may be formed of wood, is formed to hang a mans suit coat or sport coat, as is conventional. The coat hanger 26 may be pinned, glued or otherwise secured to the member 24.

A trousers hanger may be formed by a suitable rod or bar framework indicated generally at 28 and including a front bar 30, a rear bar 32 and cross bars 34 at each end. The front bar 30, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, extends outwardly from a small object tray 38 to receive and hang a mans trousers. The rear bar 32 is split at the middle, as indicated in FIGURE 3, and is pivotally connected to the rearward extension 20. A pin 40 passes through the two sides of the rear bar 32 and also through the upper end 16 of the rear leg.

The tray 38 which may have a number of small compartments for holding various articles, such as a comb, change, watch, billfold or the like, may be formed of a suitable plastic and may have two spaced upwardly extending slots 42 in its forward edge. The tray 38 is a snap-on removable tray and will be seated on top of 3,144,940 Patented Aug. 18, 1964 "ice the framework 28 which in turn is mounted on the front legs 10. The tray 38 will be snapped down on to the framework 28 when the valet is assembled. However, being plastic, the tray can be easily removed when the valet is to be folded up and stored.

A shoe rack indicated generally at 44 may be formed of a bar or rod framework including a front bar 46, a rear bar 48 and an intermediate bar 5-0, these three bars being held together by suitable end bars 52. The ends of the front bar 46 are inserted in suitable holes in the front legs 10 so that the shoe rack is pivotally mounted to the front legs. A rear mounting bar 54 is fastened to the cross bars 48 and 50, generally intermediate their ends, and has a hook 56 at its rear end, as illustrated in FIGURE 5, which extends into an opening 58 in the rear leg 14. The shoe rack will be removably attached to the rear leg and pivotally mounted to the two front legs.

The use, operation and function of the invention are as follows:

I have shown a foldable valet, the major portions of which may be formed of plastic and conventional thin gauge tube stock. Both the hanger 26 and the tray 38 may be extrusion molded of a suitable plastic.

In order to assemble the valet from the folded condition of FIGURE 6, spread the front and rear legs of the valet apart. Insert the rear mounting bar 54 in the bottom opening 58, which holds the front and rear legs in a proper spaced-apart position. The framework 28 will pivot down and rest upon the horizontal cross member 12. Once the framework 28 is in position, the plastic tray 38 may be snapped onto the framework to complete asembly.

To disassemble the valet, for example for daytime storage, the process is the reverse. First the tray 38 is quickly and easily removed after which the mounting member 54 is removed from opening 58 and the front and rear legs are moved together to the folded condition of FIGURE 6.

Of particular advantage in my invention is the lightweight construction plus the ease of assembly and disassembly. When the valet is in the folded condition it may be easily stored or hung from a hook in a closet. The attachment between the mounting bar 54 and the rear leg holds the valet in the folded condition.

The invention has principal application in hotels and motels. All of the articles of apparel of a man may be easily stored overnight. His coat may be hung on the coat hanger and his trousers may be draped over the forward bar 30. All of the articles from the mans pockets may be placed in the tray and his shoes may be placed on the shoe rack. The valet is especially suitable for quick morning starts.

Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there are many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A foldable valet including a pair of spaced front legs and a rear leg pivoted to the front legs, a generally horizontal upper leg section joining said spaced front legs together, an upwardly extending tubular member joined to said horizontal leg section, a hanger member on top of said tubular member, a snap on removable tray for holding small objects mounted on the upper end of said legs, a trouser hanger pivoted to said front leg and extending outwardly from said tray, and a shoe rack pivoted to said front legs and removably attached to said rear leg.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said shoe rack includes spaced bars extending gen- 3 erally perpendicular to said front legs and a pair of end bars holding said spaced bars together, and a mounting bar fixed to said spaced bars and having a hook portion for attachment to said rear leg.

3. The structure of claim 2 further characterized in that said rear leg has an opening generally near the bottom thereof for receiving the hook on said mounting bar.

4. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in 4 5. The structure of claim 4 further characterized in that said tray seats upon said trousers hanger framework and said horizontal leg section.

6. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said rear leg and trousers hanger have a common pivot point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,090,372 McKenzie Aug. 17, 1937 2,675,926 Simjian Apr. 20, 1954 2,851,166 Block Sept. 9, 1958 

1. A FOLDABLE VALET INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED FRONT LEGS AND A REAR LEG PIVOTED TO THE FRONT LEGS, A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL UPPER LEG SECTION JOINING SAID SPACED FRONT LEGS TOGETHER, AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING TUBULAR MEMBER JOINED TO SAID HORIZONTAL LEG SECTION, A HANGER MEMBER ON TOP OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, A SNAP ON REMOVABLE TRAY FOR HOLDING SMALL OBJECTS MOUNTED ON THE UPPER END OF SAID LEGS, A TROUSER HANGER PIVOTED TO SAID FRONT LEG AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID TRAY, AND A SHOE RACK PIVOTED TO SAID FRONT LEGS AND REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO SAID REAR LEG. 